FoxKids Spoilers

Tired of being teased by his friends, and called a 'wet blanket', Hercules requests from the fire in the Olympian forge to be more like his father, Zeus, Iolaus and Jason are pleased with the new Hercules who is the life of the party, until pleasure turns to pain, the fire locked within Hercules threatens to literally incinerate him.

Hercules asks Hephaestus (Jason Hoyte) to make him more like his father, but the results backfire and Hercules becomes a danger to his friends and himself.

TV Guide Promo

Hercules is tired of being known as a wet blanket by his friends. Hercules decides the only way to fix this is to get the fire from Hephaestus's forge to make him more like Zeus.

Synopsis

Outside the front of Kora's Inn, mid-day. A man rides his horse past a window where Kora is waiting. She takes his payment and passes him a steaming basket, "Enjoy your meal!" The man rides away, and up to the window comes Iolaus, holding reins. He pulls on the reins to stop, and Kora offers to take his order. Iolaus invites her to take the day off instead. As he speaks, his "horse" starts bouncing - Iolaus flicks his reins, eliciting an "Ow!" from Jason. Camera pans out to see that Iolaus is actually riding a board carried between Hercules and Jason. They dump him off the board, and all three guys crowd around Kora's window. Jason also encourages Kora to come to Corinth with them, while Hercules begs off, having already promised his help to Hephaestus. Kora says that she won't go since Hercules won't be there to chaperone, and leaves the window. Disappointed, Iolaus turns to Hercules, "Couldn't you at least let her think you were going?" Hercules groans, "She wouldn't have gone, all right?" Iolaus and Jason tease Hercules about being a wet blanket.

A horn is blown by a man riding a chariot in line behind them, and the man barks at them to move along, "Doesn't that four-legged freak Cheiron teach you little boys manners?" Jason challenges him, and the chariot rider responds in kind, half-pulling his sword from the sheath. Iolaus and Jason surge forward but Hercules holds them back, trying to defuse the situation and get his friends to walk away. As they walk past the chariot, Iolaus grabs a coil of rope from the back of the chariot. The chariot rides up to the window where Kora is waiting to take their order. Iolaus starts uncoiling the rope, planning some mischief. Jason is ready to join in, but Hercules is less than thrilled by the idea. Iolaus hands Hercules one end of the rope, telling him to tie it to a tree, as he and Jason approach the chariot, intent to loop the rope around the back of the chariot and take the wheels off.

Kora hands the chariot rider two steaming baskets of food, "Enjoy your meal, have a nice day." Jason and Iolaus sneak back to where Hercules is standing with the rope still in his hands. As they fight over whether or not they should pull the prank, Iolaus yanks the rope away from Hercules. Meanwhile, the driver of the chariot whips the horses to ride off. The rope pulls taut and Iolaus, still holding the rope, is yanked off his feet and dragged off behind the chariot.

Down the road, Jason and Hercules are following the chariot tracks and looking for Iolaus. "How far do you think he got before he remembered to let go of the rope?" Iolaus, battered and dirty, climbs out of the undergrowth at the side of the road. The fight picks up again over the prank, Iolaus criticizing Hercules for lacking a sense of humor, while Hercules continues to be the responsible one. Jason takes Iolaus's side, and they ask him one more time to come to Corinth with them. Hercules refuses, citing his prior agreement to help Hephaestus, and Jason once more call him a wet blanket before heading off to Corinth with Iolaus. Disgruntled, Hercules heads off to Hephaestus's forge.

Inside Hephaestus's forge, Hercules is pumping a billows while Hephaestus hammers out the blade of a sword. Herc asks Hephaestus, "Do you think I'm boring?" Hephaestus replies, "Well, we can't all be exciting." He compares them to hammers - heavy, strong, reliable. Hephaestus goes on to describe another group of people, like Zeus, who take everything life has to offer, devouring life like flame burns wood. Hercules perks up at Zeus's name. Hercules wonders if the reason why Zeus hasn't taken much interest in him is because they're so different. Hephaestus tells Hercules about a time he tried to change to please Hera, and how he asked the fire from the heart of the earth to change his heart so that he could be a warrior, like she wanted him to be. He didn't like it much, as he didn't get much work done, and there's always work to do. Hephaestus wanders off in search of some pig iron he misplaced, and Hercules approaches the fire to ask it to change him. "I wanna change. I wanna be the son my father wants. I wanna devour life! Like Zeus! Like there's a fire inside me!" His head is thrown back as the fire erupts in front of him, granting his request.

Inside an inn in Corinth, Jason and Iolaus are at a table with two girls. Jason is doing well charming his date, but Iolaus is failing at impressing his. Hercules struts into the club, cool as can be and attracting Jason and Iolaus's attention. A waitress passes and Hercules takes her tray as he twirls her under his arm, "Someone as beautiful as you shouldn't have to work so hard." She is charmed by his flirtation and he continues his strut across the inn, over to the bar. He sets down the tray and slides it down the length of the bar. Jason immediately notices that Hercules is different, and Iolaus calls out to ask Herc what he's doing there. Hercules explains that Hephaestus is boring, "Besides, why would I hang out with a god when I can come here and hang out with goddesses?" He takes Iolaus's date by the hand and pulls her onto her feet, spinning her into his arms. She is also charmed by him, and he tells her to warm up Iolaus, before spinning her onto Iolaus's lap. He tells her that Iolaus is a big hero back at Cheiron's Academy, and she turns back to Iolaus, suddenly more interested in him. Iolaus flashes Herc an a-okay hand signal as Hercules props his feet up on the table. Jason asks Hercules if he's okay, and says that he's ready to set the world on fire. "Food for everyone!" Hercules cries out, tossing a bone with a hunk of meat on it across the room onto someone else's plate. When the meat lands, it is smoking, the meat on it charred. Hercules laughs, rubbing his hands together.

Later that evening, outside Kora's Inn, Jason is walking towards the inn with Hercules on his shoulders, wearing a long snake like a feather boa. Behind them, Iolaus dances with a strange hat on his head, and several people from the Corinthian inn dance and carry on. "I can't make it!" Jason says, but Hercules encourages him, "I said all the way to Kora's, now come on!" "If he makes it, I'll eat my hat!" Iolaus proclaims.

Kora is closing up when she hears the commotion, wondering "Who's out there this late?" Iolaus bursts in first, still dancing. Behind him are Jason and Hercules, and Jason falls to his knees. "You did it!" Hercules cries. Iolaus says he's not gonna eat his hat, and Hercules offers to eat it for him. Iolaus asks Jason, "You wanna bet he can't?" "Not after what he did to that ox." Hercules lets out a huge burp, then steals three apples and starts juggling them. He tosses one each to Jason and Iolaus, and munches on his own as he tells Kora that she should have come to Corinth with them, that she missed out on all the fun. "I'll try to go on living." Kora retorts. Hercules tosses aside the apple, then flips so that he's seated on the bar. He pulls Kora to him and cradles her face in his hands as he invites her to go back to Corinth with him. Kora shoves him back, flipping him back off the counter as she rejects his offer. Hercules is unfazed, ready to go back after her, but Iolaus and Jason pull him back, apologizing to Kora for his behavior and trying to calm Hercules down. "I've had enough fun," Iolaus says, taking off his hat, and Hercules immediately replies, "You can never have too much fun, Iolaus!" Iolaus and Jason head back to the Academy to go to bed, Jason asking as he leaves, "What's wrong with you?" Hercules checks himself, saying, "There's nothing wrong with me. I'm exactly who I wanna be." The remaining followers from Corinth cheer Hercules on, "Go! Go! Go!"

That night, as Hercules sleeps in his bunk at the Academy, he seems to expel fire as he breathes, shaking in bed. Fire also spurts from his upturned hand.

A short time later, Hercules's empty bunk is on the floor and on fire. The crackling flames wake Lilith, who jumps out of bed calling out an alarm. Hercules is standing just around the corner, his eyes red as he listens to the chaos. Lilith grabs something to beat at the flames while other cadets run off in search of water to douse the fire. Herc approaches her, pretending to be himself again as he claims to not know how the fire got started. "Where were you?" Lilith demands, and Hercules says he was looking for a bucket of water. He asks Lilith if she's hungry, and she stares at him in confusion.

That morning, Jason and Iolaus are hung over from their late-night partying, while Lilith looks in shock at Hercules, who is cheerily chowing down on his breakfast. "You gonna eat that?" Herc asks, and Iolaus hands over his breakfast to Herc who eagerly digs in, using his hand to scoop the oatmeal into his mouth. Iolaus and Jason share a glance.

During sparring practice, Hercules gets impatient at the slow pace and soundly thrashes both Jason and Iolaus. Iolaus reminds him that they're supposed to be going at half-speed, at which Hercules balks, "Half-speed is so boring! This whole Academy's boring! And you're boring! And you're boring! And you're all boring!" Hercules takes a drink of water, spewing it out again before stalking off. Jason, Iolaus, and Lilith watch him storm away, before deciding to follow him and find out what's wrong with him.

Inside the stables, a horse is skittish and rearing in fear as it tries to back away from an inflamed Herc. "What's he afraid of, Hercules?" Jason asks, stating that the horse can sense something's wrong. Iolaus tells Hercules that he's not himself. "I'm the son of Zeus! That's who I am, and I'm wasting my time in this academy, so... I'm gonna set the world on fire."

Hercules starts to walk towards the exit of the stables, smoke rising from each step. Jason and Iolaus each try to stop him, but they can't touch Hercules - his body is too hot to the touch. "It's like he's on fire!" Iolaus exclaims. Lilith grabs a rope and lassos Herc, but Hercules grabs the rope and lights it on fire. The fire races down the rope towards Lilith's hands, until she has to let go. Iolaus grabs a long wooden staff and lashes out at Hercules - Hercules catches the other end and blows on it. Again, fire races along the wood until Iolaus has to let go. Jason wraps cloth around one hand and throws a punch at Hercules, but the blow glances off him and the cloth catches on fire. Jason freaks out at his fist being on fire, and Hercules mocks him, holding his own arm and mock-whimpering. Iolaus grabs a length of chain hanging from the ceiling, twirling the free end before lashing out at Hercules. "Isn't this fun?" Hercules cries out, catching the chain and yanking on it. The chain entangles in Iolaus's feet, yanking him off the ground until he's hanging in the air by his ankles. Hercules holds up his fists and fire bursts from them, "Let's have some real fun!" Lilith calls out, "No, Hercules, don't! He's your friend!" Something in her words reaches Hercules, and he starts to lose control, the fire in his hands fading as he looks in horror at what he was about to do. "Stay away from me!" he yells, running from the stables. Lilith and Jason follow him, leaving Iolaus hanging.

Hercules is gone by the time Jason and Lilith step into the courtyard. Jason speculates that Hercules is headed back to Corinth, and plans to catch him, but Lilith is skeptical, "And do what? Have him turn us into toast?" She thinks that since Hephaestus was the last one to see Hercules when Herc was normal, maybe Hephaestus knows what happened to him. Jason and Lilith start calling out the god's name, and Hephaestus appears in a sparkle of lights, grumbling, "Why does somebody always call when you're in the middle of something?" Jason and Lilith explain what's been going on with Hercules, and Hephaestus realizes that Herc asked the fire to change him. Hephaestus explains that since Herc is half mortal, the fire would change him at first, and then burn him to ashes. He says that they need a lot of water, and Jason tells him that the road to Corinth goes by a pond. Jason calls out for Iolaus, who is just arriving from the stables, chains still entangled around his feet and his hair frizzy and wild from hanging upside down.

As Hercules walks by the pond on the way to Corinth, Hephaestus blocks his path, asking for Herc's help, that there's work to be done. "No work for me, just play," Hercules laughs, creating a fireball in one hand. He throws the fireball at Hephaestus, who blocks it with his hammer. "I'm like Zeus now," Hercules crows, "I've got the fire inside me!" A wall of flames shoot up, separating Hercules from Hephaestus. Jason, Lilith, and Iolaus try to sneak up behind Hercules, intending to drag him into the pond, but Hercules notices them and another wall of fire springs up between them and Hercules. They try to encourage Hercules to fight the fire, but Hercules doesn't want to fight it - it feels way too good. Herc waves his hands and a third wall of fire springs up to connect the first two walls, effectively boxing him in.

Jason grabs Iolaus, whispering, "Pretend you can't swim!" to him before flipping Iolaus deep into the middle of the pond. Hercules cries out, "Iolaus!" Lilith tries to go rescue Iolaus, but Jason stops her, telling her that Hercules has to do it. Jason fakes a twisted ankle, and Hercules is overwhelmed as everyone screams at him to save Iolaus. Iolaus is flailing in the water, and Hercules falls to his knees, screaming as he fights the power inside him for control. "Iolaus!" Hercules screams, and the walls of fire extinguish as Herc successfully wrests control of himself back from the person he had become. Back to normal, Hercules springs into action, jumping into the pond to save Iolaus.

Hercules pulls Iolaus to shore, where Heph, Jason, and Lilith are waiting. "You knew Hercules would save him," Hephaestus says, and Jason smiles, saying that even fire couldn't change Hercules that much. Herc asks Jason why he flipped Iolaus into the water when Iolaus could have drowned. Jason says that Iolaus was only pretending, to which Iolaus retorts, "Pretending nothing, I can't swim!" "Oh." Jason says after Lilith smacks him. Hephaestus tells Hercules that he's glad he's back, that you can't be what you're not. Hephaestus says he left something boiling on the forge; Herc bids him goodbye, and Heph vanishes. Jason and Lilith share a grin. Hercules says that he feels like he ate an ox. "You did," Jason tells him, "I saw you. You ate the whole ox." They all laugh as the camera fades out.

Pop Culture References and Greekisms - Kora seems to be working an ancient "drive-thru", taking orders trough a window from customers in chariots or on horseback, and delivering their "To Go" orders in an easy-to-transport basket.

Nod to HtLJ - Iolaus saying that he'll be a king someday when the right kingdom comes around is a reference to HtLJ "2.19 - King For A Day" when his lookalike cousin, Orestes, is drugged and Iolaus takes his place and is crowned King of Attica.

Inside Jokes - When Iolaus approaches Kora's window, he calls his "horse" Tapert. Rob Tapert is one of the executive producers of the show.

Nod to HtLJ - Although Iolaus's age is never clarified in HtLJ, but can be assumed that Iolaus's line, "I'm not gonna change when I get old. I'll still be having fun when I'm thirty." is a nod to his older self in the parent series.